


Together We Go

by brokenpeople



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Christmas, Depression, Fluff, Halloween, Josh works at a music store, Kind of based on Oh Ms. Believer, M/M, Mark is an amazing friend, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Tyler has trust issues, cute festive christmas fic, grouplove, holiday au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-01 00:23:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8599750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenpeople/pseuds/brokenpeople
Summary: “Dude, try these on.”Tyler turns around to see Josh holding up a pair of the most ridiculous ear muffs he has ever seen. They’re huge, pink, and sparkly. He doubles over in laughter, clutching his stomach.“I think you’d look better in them Josh, they’d match your hair.” Tyler laughs loudly again, attracting annoyed glances from nearby customers. “Oh shut up, seriously come here I want you to try them on.” Josh smiles as he walks closer to Tyler and places them over his ears.Even though he should look stupidly embarrassing, Josh’s smile turns to one of pure adoration. He stares at Tyler, whose dimples are on full display as he lets out amused giggles. His eyes are closed, eyelashes resting on top of his cheekbones, his crooked teeth showing whenever he laughs, and his fluffy hair is being messed up by the ear muffs. He’s beautiful.“I love you,” whispers Josh, even though Tyler can’t see or hear him.





	1. Chapter 1

Today is October 31st which means it’s Halloween; Tyler’s least favorite holiday.

Every year on Halloween, Mark, Tyler’s best friend and roommate, leaves him. He drives for about 3 hours to see one of their old friends, Kenny, from high school who they used to celebrate Halloween with years ago. Tyler doesn’t get mad at him for it, he just wishes he would stay with him at their little townhouse so that he’s not alone.

Mark is the most caring friend he has ever had. Before he left to visit Kenny, he made sure that Tyler was absolutely okay with him being gone for a day. Mark usually left on Halloween morning to begin his long drive and then stayed the night at Kenny’s house. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Mark would ask every year.

“No, I’ll be fine here.” Tyler lied.

It’s not that Tyler didn’t want to go with Mark to visit Kenny, he just had bad anxiety and would rather stay home even though he hated spending Halloween alone. Back when Tyler was in high school, his two main friends were Mark and Kenny. After they had graduated, Kenny moved away and they hadn’t seen each other since then. Tyler missed him, but he doubted Kenny missed him as well.

It was 5:30 at night when Tyler got out of his bed for the first time that day and went to the bathroom. Trick or treating usually started at 6 and Tyler hands out candy each year. 

He opened the cabinet below the sink and rummaged through a bunch of toiletries and other items until he found a black tube of paint. Uncapping the bottle, he squeezed a medium sized amount onto his hands and started applying the paint to his neck. 

After his neck was completely black, he squeezed a small amount onto his hands once more and rubbed them together until both of them were black as well.

It wasn’t necessarily considered a costume, but Tyler did this every year. He thought it looked cool and kind of mysterious. 

He left the bathroom in his room and walked downstairs to go to the kitchen. The townhouse they lived in wasn’t the nicest place, in the summer it got extremely hot and in the winter it was freezing since the insulation of the house was terrible. There were two floors in the house; downstairs there was a kitchen, sitting area, and bathroom, upstairs there was two bedrooms and another bathroom. 

Tyler didn’t mind the house but Mark hated it. The rent was extremely cheap so that was the only reason they stayed in it. 

Tyler walked into the small kitchen and grabbed a bag of candy that was resting on the counter. Mark had bought three large bags of candy before he left because he knew Tyler liked to hand it out to the trick or treaters. 

He opened a drawer in the counter and grabbed a pair of scissors, cutting the first bag of candy open and dumping it into a large bowl. Before going outside, Tyler grabbed his black Brooklyn jacket from the coat rack and pulled it on as well as slipping his feet into a pair of floral vans. 

He grabbed the house keys and began to unlock the front door when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out of his pocket and saw that Mark was calling him.

“Hey,” Tyler said as he picked up the phone.

“Hey Ty, are you doing okay?” Marked questioned with concern.

Tyler took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m fine. How’s Kenny?”

“He’s great! He said he really misses you.” Tyler frowned at that, he had a hard time believing anyone cared for him other than Mark.

“Tell him I miss him too, I’m going to hand out candy okay? It’s almost 6:00 here so trick or treating starts soon.” Tyler said as he fidgeted with his coat zipper, the house keys still in his hand. 

“Okay, have fun. I wish you were here, man. The parties we go to are sick, you’d probably have fun.” Mark replied. Tyler sighed and rubbed his eyes, he was tired of people trying to get him to leave his house.

“You know how I feel about parties, Mark.” Tyler spoke with no emotion.

The other line was quiet for a moment. “You’re right, I’m sorry. But you know not every party is filled with assholes, it was just one time that something happened, Tyler. You have to forget about the past and live your life.” Mark said quietly.

“I know. I’ll go to another party when I’m ready, okay? I promise.” Tyler replied. He just wanted to hang up. 

He heard Mark sigh into the phone, probably not believing Tyler’s promise. “Alright, I’ll let you go. I hope you’re okay. I’ll be home tomorrow, don’t eat too much candy okay?” Mark joked to lighten up the mood.

Tyler gave a small smile. “No promises. I’ll see you tomorrow, bye Mark.” He hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. 

In their senior year of high school, Tyler had dated a boy named Dominic who was on his basketball team. He had seemed like a pretty nice guy until one day he invited Tyler to his friend Ryan’s house for a party. Long story short, the party itself was fun until Dominic locked Tyler in a room along with Ryan and two other of his friends. They informed Tyler that Dominic only dated him because of a bet they made.

Tyler was devastated. The four boys proceeded to make fun of him and call him homophobic slurs until he cried, which is when they began to beat him up. Luckily, Mark and some guy named Pete found the room Tyler was in before his injuries got even worse. Pete was absolutely furious. He had punched Dominic square in the face which gave him a broken nose. After he exchanged harsh words with the other boys, they scrambled out of the room in fear of Pete punching them as well. 

Tyler had never been to a party since then and he was too afraid he would be taken advantage of again, even if he wasn’t in a relationship.

Running his hands over his face and shaking his head, Tyler opened the front door to the townhouse and tried to forget about his past as he walked outside with the bowl of candy cradled in his arms.

———

It was 8:00 which is typically when trick or treating ended. Tyler sat on the porch of the townhouse holding the last piece of candy in his hands even though no trick or treaters had come by in 30 minutes.

He stared off into space, lost in thought, wishing he had a better life. The piece of candy was still clutched in his left hand as he spiraled into deep thought about his unhappiness.

_Why do I isolate myself from everyone?_

_Why can’t I just go with Mark to visit Kenny?_

_Why can’t I forget about my past?_

_Why am I so unhappy?_

“Hello? You there?”

Tyler snapped out of his thoughts as he met eyes with a concerned young girl. She had extremely realistic skeleton face paint on and a skeleton hoodie to match with it.

“Oh. Sorry, I zoned out a little bit,” He awkwardly scratched his head and handed her the last piece of candy. “I only have one piece left, I hope that’s okay.” he muttered.

“It’s all good,” she smiled as she put the candy in a pillowcase that looked pretty full. 

“Sick face paint by the way,” he said.

“Thank you! It took forever to make it look realistic,” she smiled gratefully. 

As she was walking away she stopped suddenly and turned around to look at Tyler again.

“I hope you’re okay.” She said softly. Before Tyler could reply, she walked away. 

“I wish I was,” he whispered quietly to himself as a single tear slid down his cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark comes home, Tyler and Josh meet.

Sunlight streamed through the window of Tyler’s bedroom as he slowly woke up from his deep sleep. He felt the rays of sun against his back, giving him a peaceful feeling of warmth. He clutched the duvet and brought it up to his chin, letting out a long sigh and attempting to go back to sleep.

Before Tyler could drift into unconsciousness once more, the smell of pancakes reached his nose. He shot up in his bed and yanked the duvet off of him.

Mark was home.

Tyler opened his bedroom door and ran down the stairs until he reached the kitchen where Mark was flipping a pancake. 

“Mark!” he exclaimed.

Mark turned from the stove and smiled. “Hey man, how was Halloween?” he asked.

Tyler’s smile almost faltered, but he turned around and opened a cabinet to hide it.

“It was good, there was this girl with the coolest skeleton face paint I’ve ever seen, she was nice.” Tyler said, grabbing a plate and utensils.

Mark burst out into sudden laughter. “Dude, there was this girl at the party Kenny and I went to last night,” he laughed again, “and she was dressed up as a tree.” 

Tyler forced himself to laugh as Mark used his spatula to place a pancake onto Tyler’s plate. 

“It looked so realistic, I couldn’t stop laughing.” Mark said as he placed the last pancake onto his own plate and turned off the stove. 

Both him and Tyler sat down at the small kitchen table and poured syrup over their pancakes in silence.

“I wish you could have been there.” Mark spoke softly.

“Don’t talk about it,” warned Tyler as he used his fork and knife to cut the pancake into small pieces.

“Right,” Mark deflated. “Anyways, I wanted to go to that music store in the mall downtown today. Is that okay with you?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Sure, I’ll get dressed after breakfast.” answered Tyler.

They both ate their pancakes and talked about the music store, discussing what kind of vinyls they should purchase.

Once they finished their breakfast, Tyler went upstairs to his room to get dressed. He pulled on some black skinny jeans and a yellow sweatshirt before returning downstairs where he stopped in front of the rack where Mark and him kept their car keys.

Mark was sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone, he looked up when Tyler approached.

“Are you driving or am I?” asked Tyler.

“I will,” Mark said as he stood up from the couch.

Tyler took his keys off of the hook and tossed them across the room to Mark who caught them in one hand.

“Let’s go,” Mark said as he opened the front door, gesturing for Tyler to go ahead of him.

———

Tyler and Mark walked through the mall, heading towards the music store.   


“You got any ideas on what you’re going to buy?” asked Mark.

“Not sure,” Tyler said. “I was thinking of buying something new, I always like discovering new bands.” 

“True,” Mark agreed as they reached the music store. 

They both walked inside and looked around. There were two long rows of vinyls that stretched all the way to the back of the store which created an aisle to walk through. At the end of the aisle, there was a wall with old magazines and posters plastered everywhere. To the left of the store there was a little hallway with practice rooms and various instruments, Tyler liked to come here often to play the piano. 

“You should look at these vinyls and I’ll check out the ones in the back of the store.” Mark said as he walked down the aisle.

Each section of vinyls had a label above it depicting what genre of music they were. Tyler flipped through the rock section, absentmindedly humming a song under his breath.

“Hey, what kind of music are you looking for?” 

Tyler looked up and made eye contact with the most beautiful boy he’s ever seen. He had pink hair, sparkling brown eyes, and a gorgeous smile.

Tyler internally told himself to relax and gave a soft smile.

“I don’t know, I was kind of hoping to find something in the indie alternative genre.” Tyler suggested as ran his hand through his hair.

The boy’s face lit up in excitement. “I know the perfect band, follow me.” He smiled and turned around to lead Tyler to the back of the store. 

All the way in the back of the store, there was a box of vinyls labeled ‘Indie.’ The boy quickly flipped through each vinyl and eventually pulled out one with the title ‘Spreading Rumours.’

“These guys are one of my favorite bands. Their name is Grouplove. This isn’t their most recent album but I think this one is always going to be my favorite.” The boy smiled and handed the vinyl to Tyler who examined the album cover.

“Cool, I’ll definitely listen to this.” He gave a bright smile that the boy returned.

“You have a record player right? If you don’t we’re having a sale on the ones over there,” The boy gestured to a display of record players located across the store with a large sign above it that said ‘50% Off Sale’ in big bold letters.

“Yeah, my friend Mark has one, we use it all the time.” Tyler pointed to Mark who looked up from the section of vinyls he was flipping through and gave a friendly wave, beginning to make his way over to the two boys.

“Great! So is that all you’ll be purchasing today?” the boy asked. 

“Yeah I think so,” Tyler smiled politely. 

The boy nodded and led Tyler and Mark to the registers. 

“Did you find anything?” asked Tyler.

“Nah, I head that guy recommend a Grouplove vinyl to you and I wanted to listen to that. I’ve definitely heard of that band before.” Mark replied.

“Didn’t Kenny go to one of their concerts?” asked Tyler as they stepped in front of the register.

Mark looked surprised that Tyler had remembered. “Uh, yeah he did. He said they were really good live.” 

“Your total is twenty dollars.” The boy said as he pressed the buttons on his register.

Tyler, who was oblivious to the boy blatantly staring at him, took his wallet out of his back pocket and flipped through a few bills until he found a twenty. 

“Here you go,” Tyler looked up and handed the twenty dollar bill to the boy, who smiled.

“Here’s your vinyl, have a nice day.” He grinned and handed Tyler the vinyl from over the register counter.

“Thank you-” Tyler looked down at the name tag that was pinned to the boy’s shirt. “Josh,” he smiled.

Josh smiled even bigger, “No problem,” He trailed off, staring at Tyler in hopes that he would say his name as well. 

“I’m Tyler,” he supplied.

“Tyler, right. I hope you enjoy the vinyl.” Josh said with a soft smile on his face.

“Thanks, Josh. See you around.” Tyler said as Mark led him out of the store.

Tyler looked around his shoulder one more time before he left the store and waved to Josh who was still standing behind the register with an expression of awe across his face. He slowly waved back and once Tyler was out of sight, he let out a long sigh. Tyler was gorgeous.

Back outside the mall, Tyler opened the passenger door of Mark’s car and climbed inside. It was quiet until Mark laughed.

“What?” questioned Tyler, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“Nothing,” said Mark as he smiled to himself.

“Seriously, what’s so funny?” 

Mark laughed again and shook his head. “That Josh guy was so checking you out.”

Tyler groaned as Mark laughed even louder. “I knew you were going to say that, you’re such an idiot.” 

———

It’s about 1 in the afternoon when Mark brings out his record player and sets it on top of the coffee table in their sitting area. Tyler is curled up on the couch underneath a thick wool blanket and Mark is making hot chocolate for the two of them. The TV is at a low volume playing the movie ‘Home Alone’ and the both of them are listening to the Grouplove album on repeat. 

Mark walks into the room with two large mugs in his hands. He sets one down on the coffee table in front of Tyler and keeps the other one for himself. Tyler sits up on the couch and picks up the mug, the warmth of the hot chocolate making his hands tingle.

“This album is really good, next time Grouplove goes on tour we should go to their concert together.” Mark said as he sipped his hot chocolate.

“That would be so sick,” Tyler replied, trying not to think about the horrible anxiety a concert would give him.

Eventually they both finish their hot chocolate and set the empty mugs onto the coffee table. ‘News To Me’ is playing quietly on the record player as Tyler shuts his eyes, ready to take a nap.

“Hey Ty,” Mark says.

“Yeah?” Tyler replies, his eyes still closed.

“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” asks Mark, he sounds unsure.

Tyler opens his eyes. “Probably nothing, why?” he asks.

“Uh, I was just going to ask,” Mark stops for a moment, he knows he’s treading on dangerous waters. “Should you maybe call your mom?”

It was dead silent other than the vinyl playing the end of ‘News To Me’ and the quiet sound of the TV droning in the background.

Tyler finally spoke. “And why would I do that?”

“I don’t know, people change. I know she’s selfish and inconsiderate, but do you at least want to see if she’s any different?” Mark questions.

“Mark, I don’t understand,” Tyler starts. “My mother is one of the reasons why I became depressed and she kicked me out of the house when she found out I was gay. Why the hell would I want to speak to her again?” he spoke calmly.

“I know, maybe you shouldn’t speak to her but what about your brothers? And your sister? They didn't do anything wrong to you, I bet they’re worried about you.” 

Tyler snorted. “I doubt that. If I remember correctly, all three of them just stood there when I was forced to walk out of the house with all of my stuff packed in a suitcase. Trust me, none of them care about me.” 

“I see why you wouldn’t want to talk to your mother again, but maybe you should give your siblings a chance.” Mark said quietly.

“Drop it, Mark. I’m done talking about it.” Tyler snapped.

Mark said nothing else, he took the empty mugs and walked into the kitchen to rinse them off in the sink.

Tyler pulled the wool blanket up to his chin and buried his face in the soft pillow. He fell asleep to the record player which was now playing ‘Save The Party.’

_I’m going to bed early bird,_  
_Nothing else seems to work._  
_Yeah I’m going to bed early bird,_  
_Save the party for me._

———

When Tyler woke up, the record player was turned off and in its place the TV was playing Christmas music. He slowly squinted his eyes and sat up from the couch to see multiple boxes sat on the floor, all of which were labeled ‘Christmas.’

Mark was standing on a small ladder hanging up festive red ribbons from the ceiling. 

“What’s going on?” asked Tyler.

Mark turned around and saw that Tyler was awake. He stepped down from the ladder and walked over to him.

“I’m so sorry about what I said earlier. I thought about it some more and it was so wrong of me to suggest you should talk to your mother. She’s done so many shitty things and I,” Mark paused with tears in his eyes.

Tyler’s eyes widened. “Mark, dude it’s okay.”

“No, Tyler it’s not okay. You’ve been through so much in your life and you're such a nice person and people just take advantage of you. I feel like complete shit about everything, I wish I could have switched places with you, I really do. I’m so sorry, I know it’s your choice whether you talk to your siblings or not, and either way it’s okay with me. I just want you to be comfortable and happy.”

Tyler was speechless. “It’s okay, I forgive you. Thank you for always being there for me.” 

Mark managed to give a small smile. “I’ll always be here for you, okay?”

“Okay,” Tyler nodded and stood up from the couch.

“So how can I help decorate?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Mark smiled in relief and went over to one of the boxes, taking out a Santa hat.

“First of all, you have to get into true Christmas spirit with one of these.” Mark grinned as he placed the Santa hat on Tyler’s head.

Tyler laughed quietly and shook his head. He grabbed more red ribbons from one of the boxes and helped Mark hang them from the ceiling.

He kept thinking about what Mark had said, he was right, people always did take advantage of him. He wanted so badly to overcome his past and stop isolating himself from everyone he used to love. Maybe the first step to recovery could be reaching out to his siblings. 

Tyler tried to forget about the demons in his head as he laughed at Mark who was singing along horribly to Christmas music. Even if he didn’t have a family or many friends, at least he’ll always have Mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn't tell, I love Grouplove. Every song I mention in here you should totally listen to, they're such an amazing band.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler goes to the music store again.

Tyler is bored.

Mark had left the house for the afternoon to hang out with Pete, he had invited Tyler to go with him but of course, he declined. Instead, he was curled up in his bed with the TV on low volume playing Christmas music. 

Tyler knew he had to get out of bed at some point, so he threw the duvet off to the side and sat up, running his hands through his hair and yawning. 

Today, he was going to go to the music store.

After he took a quick shower and put on some clothes, he went downstairs to make breakfast. He opened one of their kitchen cabinets and pulled out a bowl and a box of cereal. 

As he was opening the refrigerator to get some milk, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at the screen to see that it was a text from Mark.

_[Text Message from Mark: 11:16 AM]_   
_Hey, you doing okay?_

Tyler sighed and unlocked his phone to type out a reply. Mark was always worrying about him, he knew that if he wasn’t at the house all the time, Tyler would probably stay in bed all day and never go outside.

_[To Mark]_   
_yep, heading to the music store after I finish breakfast._

At least now Mark would know that Tyler is actually going out. 

_[Text Message from Mark: 11:20 AM]_   
_Okay, have fun_

Tyler put his phone back into his pocket and finished pouring the milk into his cereal. The house was dead silent except for the sound of the metal spoon hitting the bowl as Tyler ate. Once he was finished, he grabbed his car keys and headed outside to begin his drive to the mall.

———

Tyler walked through the mall and headed towards the music store. Each store was now decorated for Christmas and in the middle of the mall there were kids and families getting their pictures taken with Santa. Throughout the building, the quiet tune of ‘Deck The Halls’ played on the speakers.

When Tyler entered the music store, he spotted Josh with his back turned to him stacking a shelf with more vinyls. He smiled to himself and walked down the narrow hallway that was lined with practice rooms. 

Tyler walked inside of the room with an electric piano and closed the glass door behind him. He sat down on the bench in front of the instrument, running his fingers over the smooth black and white keys. He wished he could afford a piano of his own but he didn’t have enough money. 

Tyler began playing a song he wrote himself, quietly singing the words under his breath. Even though the walls to the practice rooms were soundproof, he usually didn’t sing at full volume just in case someone were to hear him. 

He played for hours, getting lost in the music. Playing the piano always made him feel safe, it made him forget about everything bad that had happened in his life. He was so absorbed in his music that he didn’t hear someone knocking on the door until he had finished playing the song.

He turned around from where he sat on the piano bench and saw Josh standing at the glass door, waving. Tyler smiled and internally hoped that Josh hadn’t heard him playing or singing as he opened the door.

“Hi,” said Tyler shyly.

“Hey, you play the piano?” Josh asked as he leaned against the wall of the practice room.

“Yeah,” Tyler answered. “Do you play an instrument?”

“I’m known to bust out some tunes on the drums every now and then.” Josh smiled and crossed his arms in comfort.

Tyler let out a quiet laugh, linking together his own hands and fidgeting with his fingers. 

“Oh,” Tyler said in remembrance, “I listened to the Grouplove vinyl, that band is amazing, I can see why you like them so much.” he said.

Josh’s face lit up in excitement. “Yeah! They’re really talented, aren’t they?”

Tyler nodded. “I listened to their most recent album the other day.”

“Big Mess?” asked Josh in excitement.

“Yeah, I looked it up on YouTube first and then bought it off of iTunes because it was so good. I actually liked every song off of that album.” Tyler said, smiling.

“That’s great, I love it when people enjoy the music I recommend to them. What was your favorite song off of Big Mess?” asked Josh.

Tyler thought for a moment. “Probably Enlighten Me.” he decided.

He didn’t think it was possible, but Josh smiled even bigger than before. “Me too!” he declared.

Tyler smiled and they both stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Josh spoke again. “We should hang out sometime, we have similar music taste.”

Tyler’s heart stopped. “Y-yeah, that would be cool. I have plans with a friend today though.” he lied.

“That’s okay,” Josh said, happily. “Just stop by whenever you want and during my lunch break we can go to a restaurant or something.”

Tyler forced a smile. “Okay, cool. I should probably get going now.” He said as he got up from the piano bench and slowly walked towards the door of the practice room. 

“I’ll walk you out,” Josh smiled politely and gestured towards the door, signaling for Tyler to go ahead of him.

They walked through the hallway of practice rooms until they approached the front of the store where the entrance was located. 

“I’ll see you later,” Tyler said.

“Bye, Tyler.” Josh said with a smile on his face.

As Tyler began walking out of the store, he turned around one more time and waved to Josh who was still standing at the front of the store with a small smile on his face. He gently waved back just as Tyler turned a corner and went out of sight.

———

It was 6:30 PM when Mark got home from hanging out with Pete, Tyler had been sitting on the front porch of their townhouse with his face buried in his hands for the past two hours.

“Tyler?” Mark said as he got out of his car.

Tyler looked up and blinked a few times as he let his eyes adjust to the dark blue sunset. 

Mark locked his car and walked over to Tyler as his keys jingled in his hands. “How long have you been out here?” he asked.

Tyler rested his chin on his hands. “About two hours.” he mumbled.

Mark sighed, he looked tired. “Let’s talk about it inside, okay? I’ll make hot chocolate.”

Tyler smiled softly in appreciation, Mark always knew when something was wrong. He slowly stood up from the porch as Mark unlocked the front door of the house. They both walked inside, Tyler going to the family room to sit on the couch and Mark going to the kitchen to make the hot chocolate.

Tyler curled up under two blankets and rested his head on a pillow, their townhouse was extremely cold at this time of the year. When Mark was finished with the hot chocolate, he brought it into the family room and smiled when he saw Tyler under the blankets.

“You good?” he asked as he set two mugs down on the coffee table in front of them.  
Tyler nodded sleepily and sat up to take his mug. 

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” asked Mark as he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

Tyler sighed and brought his knees up to his chest as he clutched the warm mug close to his heart. “Josh wanted to hang out with me, I got scared.”

Mark nodded in understanding. “Tyler, I know you don’t like hearing this, but you really have to try and forget about your past.” 

Tyler set the mug of hot chocolate down on the coffee table. 

“I don’t think you realize how difficult that is, Mark. I’ve been trying for years to forget about everything Dominic did to me.” Tyler said harshly.

“Please don’t get mad at me, Tyler. I’m just being honest. All because of a few incidents that happened years ago you’re isolating yourself from your old friends and you're preventing yourself from making new ones.” Mark said.

“Every friend that I had in high school except for you and Kenny turned against me because of Dominic, it’s not my fault I have major trust issues.” Tyler was angry now, he pulled his blankets off and stood up.

“Tyler, you can’t just run away every time someone says something you don’t want to talk about.” Mark spoke calmly.

“I’m sorry, I’m not mad at you. I just don’t feel well at all and I-I think I’m going to have a panic attack or something.” Tyler was shaking now, because of the coldness inside of the house and inside of his head.

Mark abruptly placed his mug on the coffee table and stood up.    
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, take deep breaths.” He said as he tried his best to calm Tyler.

Tyler quickly walked down the hallway and up the stairs to his room, his teeth were chattering and his hands were rubbing up and down his arms as he attempted to distract himself from his mind. Mark followed Tyler up the stairs.

“Tyler, stop. Don’t run away, I want to help you.” Mark said as he went up the stairs two at a time to keep up with him.

“I-I’m okay, Mark. I just need to be alone, okay?” Tyler reached his room and closed and locked the door behind him.

“Tyler, please don’t do this. You need to take deep breaths, okay? You’ll be fine.” Mark spoke through the door.

Tyler crawled under the covers and spoke loud enough for Mark to hear. “I’m fine now, Mark. I feel better. I just want to go to sleep early tonight.” he lied.

Mark was quiet for a moment. “Alright, please let me know if you need anything, I’m always here for you, Tyler.”

“Thank you,” Tyler said as tears ran down his cheeks.

Tyler heard Mark walk down the stairs and began to cry even harder as he buried his face into a pillow. He continued to shake and sob until he had a hard time breathing which is when he climbed out of his bed and dropped to the ground as he opened the bottom cabinet of his nightstand, pulling out his ukulele and notebook filled with song lyrics.

Tyler climbed back onto his bed and took a deep breath as he began strumming the ukulele. Even though his whole body was still shaking, he kept his eyes closed and continued playing the tiny instrument. 

When Tyler had panic attacks, there were only a few things that could calm him down. The main ones were playing an instrument, writing or singing and the other one was being outside, which is why Tyler had sat on the porch of the townhouse for two hours after he got back home from the music store. 

Currently, Tyler was only humming a quiet tune along with the ukulele chords until he stopped playing completely. He opened his eyes and listened downstairs for any noises. He heard pots and pans being set upon the countertop, Mark was probably making dinner.

Tyler didn’t like it when people listened to him sing, he had always been insecure about his voice. If Mark was making dinner he most likely wouldn't come upstairs to bother Tyler until he was finished. He opened his notebook to a song titled “Entertain My Faith,” and rested the open pages of lyrics in front of him on his bed.

Taking a deep breath, Tyler began strumming his ukulele again, and this time, he sang.

With dried tears on his face, tired eyes, and a sick mind, he sang a song that he wrote himself. He stopped every now and then to scribble something into the notebook or to cross something out.

Tyler sniffled and wiped away a stray tear from his left eye as he crossed out the title above the lyrics. “I think I’ll call this one Holding On To You instead.” he whispered to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a filler chapter, I hope you enjoyed it anyways though :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler and Josh get dinner together.  
> They leave with each other's numbers.

Tyler and Mark were curled up on the couch under a blanket as they watched The Office on Netflix. Mark knew that Tyler had a rough night so he wasn’t pushing him to do anything, he had even brought out a tub of ice cream that both of them were sharing with each other.

Tyler scooped out more ice cream with his spoon and put it in his mouth. 

“I finished writing another song yesterday,” Tyler mentioned as he swallowed the ice cream.

“You did? Can I hear it?” Mark asked, keeping his eyes trained on the TV.

“No, not yet. I don’t know.” Tyler sighed. “I wanted to go to the music store today to play it on the piano. I still need to finalize things.” 

“You should go, and don’t be worried about Josh. I’ve spoken to him a few times before you even met him, he seems like a really nice guy, okay?” Mark said.

“Okay, I guess.” Tyler said, he was still unsure.

After the episode of The Office ended, Tyler stood up and shivered without the warmth of the blanket.

“It’s freezing in this damn townhouse.” Mark said as he rubbed his hands up and down his arms in attempt to warm himself up.

Tyler nodded in agreement and walked to the front of the house to grab his keys and put on his winter jacket. He checked the time on his phone, it was 4:53 PM, he’d probably get back at around 6 if everything went as planned.

“Have fun with your song, will you sing it for me when you get back?” Mark asked.

“I don’t like singing in front of people, my voice is bad.” Tyler muttered as he slipped his sock clad feet into his black floral vans.

“Dude, you’ve sung for me before and you’re amazing, trust me.” Mark said.

Tyler smiled, “Thanks.” he said quietly.

Mark nodded, “See you later, text me if you need anything, okay? And talk to Josh, he’s a nice dude.” 

“Okay, maybe.” Tyler said. 

He left the house and got into his car, waving goodbye to Mark as he began his drive to the music store. 

———

Tyler was singing at full volume today, this song was important to him, he didn’t want to hide it. His fingers graced across the keys and his beautiful voice filled the air.

He found nothing he wanted to change in his lyrics, he was happy with the song in every way. Clutching his notebook to his chest, Tyler walked out of the practice room and hoped he would see Josh.

Luckily, he spotted his pink hair and walked over to him.

“Hello,” said Tyler.

Josh turned away from the shelf of magazines he was stacking and smiled when he saw Tyler. 

“Hey! What’s up?”

“Do you want to get dinner? It’s okay if you don’t want to it’s just a suggestion, I-” Tyler said nervously, but Josh interrupted him.

“Sure, my shift ends in about ten minutes if you want to wait for me.” Josh smiled and finished stacking the rack of magazines. 

“Sounds good, I’ll just look around the store while I wait.” Tyler smiled and Josh nodded. 

As Tyler walked around the store, he pulled out his phone and typed a quick text to Mark informing him of his whereabouts.

_[To Mark]_   
_going out with Josh for dinner:) I might be home later than anticipated_

He was flipping through a crate of vinyls when Mark replied.

_[Text Message from Mark: 6:08 PM]_   
_Proud of you, man. Have fun!_

Tyler smiled and slipped his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. He was nervous to get dinner with Josh because he was always awkward around new people, but he knew that he couldn’t let his past stop him from meeting new people forever. 

When Josh’s shift ended, he gathered his stuff and walked over to where Tyler was trying out one of their record players.

“Hey, my shift just ended. You ready to go?” he asked.

Tyler smiled and nodded, turning away from the record player and following Josh as they walked out of the store.

“I know a nice diner down the street from the mall, did you drive here?” Josh asked as they walked through the mall to get to the exit.

“Yeah,” Tyler responded.

“If you want you can follow me in your car, it might be easiest that way so that we can both drive home after we finish eating.”

“Okay, that’s cool with me.” Tyler said.

They exited the mall and walked outside into the cold winter air. Tyler shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around him as he got into his car to follow Josh.

The both of them pulled out of the mall parking lot and drove down the street to the small diner. Once they arrived, they parked their cars in front of the building and walked over to each other.

“This place sells the best burgers, I come here all the time.” Josh said.

Before Tyler could reply, they walked inside and a waitress greeted them.

“Hello, table for two?” she asked as she looked back and forth between Josh and Tyler.

“Yes,” Josh confirmed.

“Follow me,” she smiled politely while grabbing two menus. She led them to a booth next to a window that had detailed snowflakes painted onto it. A radio station with just Christmas music was playing throughout the restaurant on the speakers. 

Tyler and Josh both slid into the cushioned seats opposite each other and opened their menus.

“My name is Brooke, I’ll be your waitress today. What can I get for you guys to drink?” She asked, pulling out a notepad from the pocket of her apron.

“I’ll take a diet coke please.” Josh said.

“I’ll just have water,” Tyler said quietly.

The waitress nodded and scribbled down their orders, rushing into the kitchen.

“Hey, you look kind of nervous. Do you want me to order your food for you?” asked Josh with concern in his eyes.

Tyler’s eyes widened in surprise, usually nobody except for Mark ever offered to order his food for him.

“Oh, uh, sure actually. Yeah, that would be great.” Tyler stuttered.

Josh smiled. “So, how long have you been playing the piano?”

Tyler thought for a moment. “I think ever since I was 16.”

“Do you have a keyboard at home?” Josh asked in curiosity.

Tyler almost frowned. “Uh, no unfortunately not. I can’t afford it. I used to play the piano at my parents’ house but then I got,” Tyler stopped mid sentence, almost revealing that he got kicked out. “I moved out to live with my friend, Mark, and ever since then I haven’t had my own piano.” Tyler said sadly.

“Man, that sucks. You should start saving up for one.” Josh suggested.

“I have been, I guess until I save up enough money I’ll keep practicing on the one at the music store.” Tyler said.

The waitress returned back to their table and set down their drinks. She pulled out her notepad again, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Are you guys ready to order?” she asked with her pen ready to scribble down their requests.

“Yes, we’ll both take the bacon cheeseburger, please.” Josh said politely. 

The girl nodded and finished writing down the orders. 

“Anything else?” she asked, looking up from the notepad.

“No thank you, that should be it.” Josh smiled.

“Okay, I’ll be back with your food in a few minutes.” she said as she walked back into the kitchen.

“Do you go to the music store everyday to practice? I’ve only seen you there a few times.” Josh said as tapped the straw against the table to break off the packaging around it.

“I usually go there twice a week or more, I have to practice often otherwise I get moody.” Tyler said as he slipped his straw into his drink.

Josh laughed. “You get moody?”

Tyler smiled, letting out a small laugh as well. “I meant like,” Tyler paused, searching for the appropriate words to use. “Music is a huge part of my life, it always has been and it always will be. It’s helped me so much and when I don’t play music for a long time, I get upset. I feel like I have to play music, it’s almost like a necessity, I need it to be happy.” 

Josh wasn’t laughing anymore. Instead, he was nodding in understanding. 

“I know exactly what you mean. Music is what keeps me sane, honestly.” Josh said as he took a sip of his drink.

“Me too, I’ve always dreamed of inspiring people with my words. I love to write music about my own experiences and I think it would be the most amazing feeling to know that there’s people in the world who have heard your words and related to them. I want to help people.” Tyler said in deep thought.

Josh stared at Tyler in awe. “Well,” he began. “I bet you write incredible songs, I’m getting inspired just sitting here listening to you talk.” Josh smiled.

“Am I talking too much? I’m sorry, I always tend to ramble when the topic of music comes up.” Tyler said as he looked down at his hands in awkwardness.

“No! No, that’s not what I meant. I’m really interested in what you have to say, I’ve dreamed about inspiring others too. It’s nice to know that we have the same aspirations.” Josh smiled assuringly.

Tyler nodded and took another sip of his drink.

“Have you ever thought about performing live?” Josh asked.

“Yeah but I don’t know if I’d be able to do it. I have really bad anxiety and it would be hard for me to get up on stage in front of a lot of people and sing. All of their attention is on you, I think I’d have a panic attack.” Tyler laughed lightly.

Josh nodded. “Me too, I’m such an awkward person, that’s why I play the drums. If I were to ever become famous I wouldn’t have to talk, I’d just hide behind my drums.” he laughed.

Tyler laughed as well but then his facial expression turned to one of seriousness. “I think you’d be a great speaker. I want to hear what you have to say, if you ever need someone to talk to you can talk to me, okay?”

Josh nodded in shock. “Y-yeah okay.”   
Tyler laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, that was probably really strange and unexpected. I just know what it’s like to have nobody who will listen to you. It’s one of the worst feelings to know you have nobody to talk to.” 

“I feel that way a lot.” Josh frowned. “I have a really close friend named Debby, we went to school together and we’ve been through basically everything together. I know she’s always there for me but sometimes I feel like I complain too much and I hate burdening people with my problems, you know what I mean?” 

“Definitely, that’s how I feel with my friend Mark, he’s the one who came with me to the music store the day we first met. He’s the greatest friend I could ever ask for but I feel like sometimes I rely on him too much to help me.”

“You know what Tyler? From now on if either of us ever feel like we’re annoying our friends, let’s just talk to each other.” Josh said.

Tyler smiled, and this time it was genuine. “Sounds like a plan to me.” he said.

The waitress arrived back at the table with two plates balanced on her hands. She set each plate down in front of Tyler and Josh.

“I hope you enjoy the food, do any of you need anything else?” she asked, glancing at the two of them.

“No, I think we’re okay. The food looks delicious, thank you so much.” Josh said politely.

The waitress nodded and walked to another table a few feet away from them.

Tyler and Josh ate their burgers and talked more about music and what kind of bands they enjoyed listening to. Tyler felt like he trusted Josh already and he didn’t even know him that well. He’s already told Josh more about his musical aspirations than he’s ever told anyone else other than Mark. Tyler was trying to trust his gut feeling this time, and his gut feeling was telling him that Josh was a nice person. Hopefully this time Tyler wouldn’t get taken advantage of.

Once the both of them finished their burgers, Josh asked the waitress for the check and she returned with it soon afterwards. Tyler took out his wallet to pay but Josh held a hand out to stop him.

“It’s okay, I just got paid, I’ll take care of the check. Besides, you need to save up your money for your piano.” Josh smiled and Tyler blushed.

Once they had finished paying, Tyler and Josh walked out of the restaurant into the frigid air. The sky was pitch black now and the streetlights dimly lit up the parking lot. The Christmas music from inside the restaurant was still audible from where they stood in front of their cars.

“Tonight was fun, we definitely have to hang out again sometime.” Josh said, staring at Tyler and admiring his cheeks that were tinted pink from the cold air.

Tyler nodded. “Yeah, thanks for letting me ramble about music.” he laughed.

“You can ramble to me anytime you want. Oh, speaking of,” Josh took his phone out from the pocket of his jacket and handed it to Tyler. “Do you want to exchange numbers?” 

Tyler froze for a second and then comprehended Josh’s words. “Oh, sure.” He took his phone out from his back pocket and unlocked it before handing it over to Josh. 

They both typed in their numbers into each others phones and then handed them back with smiles on their faces.

“Cool, text me if you ever want to hang out or talk, okay?” Josh said.

“Okay, same to you.” Tyler said, still not believing he now has Josh’s number on his phone.

“See you later, Tyler. I hope we can hang out again soon.” Josh smiled and got into his car. 

“Bye Josh.” Tyler said. He slid into the drivers seat of his car, closing the door behind him, and twisting the key to hear the engine start up.

They both waved to each other once more before driving away in separate directions. 

Tyler had a smile on his face for the entire drive home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The writing in this fic is complete garbage, I am so sorry. I'm planning to write other fics after I finish this one, I promise they'll be a lot better. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler works at McDonald's with Brendon.

“Are you even trying anymore, Brendon?”

Brendon dropped the disgusting looking sandwich that now had mustard oozing out of it, dripping onto the countertop with half of a tomato peeking out between the soggy bread. He glared at the girl.

“You know what, Taylor? Fuck you, it’s 10 at night and I’m tired as hell. If you’re so concerned about the damn sandwich then make it yourself.” 

Tyler snickered as he put tomatoes and lettuce on top of a cooked burger. He worked at McDonald’s and hated it, but at least he had Brendon. 

“Why were you even hired? You can’t do anything right.” Taylor mumbled as she stormed off with a bag of food to deliver to a customer.

Brendon let out a long sigh and turned to Tyler. “I’m so sick of her, you have no idea.” He checked his watch and ran a hand over his face. “Our shift ends in five minutes, we should start cleaning up.” 

Tyler nodded and took off his plastic gloves, throwing them into the trashcan beside the counter. Brendon went to high school with him years ago. Although they hadn’t talked much while they were in school, they grew a lot closer once they reunited and became coworkers at McDonald’s. They have yet to hang out outside of work, Tyler felt bad about it but he wasn’t making an attempt to change anything.

Brendon went to the back room to grab his winter peacoat and Tyler followed him to put on his jacket as well. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed on the home button to bring up the notifications, he had a few texts from Josh.

_[Text Message from Josh: 6:12 PM]_  
_I’m bored_

_[Text Message from Josh: 7:01 PM]_  
_Are you at work?_

_[Text Message from Josh: 9:34 PM]_  
_Hope you’re doing okay_

Tyler smiled and quickly typed a reply.

_[To Josh]_  
_hey, just got off work, what’s up?_

Brendon finished buttoning up his peacoat and turned to Tyler. 

“Ready to go?” he asked.

 “Yeah, I’m so tired,” Tyler said as he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“Same, dude. Taylor is so fucking annoying I honestly don’t know if I can put up with her for much longer.” Brendon said as they walked out of McDonald’s and into the cold winter air.

“You know, at first I just thought she was a suck up to the boss but everyday I’m realizing that she’s just a horrible person in general.” Tyler said.

“I know, I’m considering quitting because of her. Besides, I hate this job regardless of her.” Brendon stopped in front of his car and turned to face Tyler. His hair that was originally styled in a quiff was now wilting, a loose piece tumbling down to rest on his forehead.

“We should hang out sometime after work. Maybe next week if you aren’t busy?” Brendon asked hopefully.

Tyler almost frowned but masked his emotions by putting on a fake smile. “Sure, I’ll just have to check my schedule and let you know.” 

Brendon nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Brendon.” Tyler said as he waved and then turned to walk across the parking lot to his car.

Once he unlocked his door and sat in the drivers seat of his car, he buried his face in his hands, letting out a long sigh.

“What are you doing with your life?” he whispered to himself.

It was too quiet. He lifted his head up and turned on the radio to a station that was playing Christmas music.

As he listened to ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the screen.

_[Text Message from Josh: 10:05 PM]_  
_I’m just watching Christmas movies, do you want to hang out tomorrow?_

Tyler stared at the screen and blinked. He needed to talk to Mark for reassurance. He put his on the passenger seat next to him and rested his hands on the steering wheel.

When he felt like he was about to cry, he shook his head back and forth. “Stop it, drive.” he told himself firmly.

He twisted the key in the ignition and the engine started up.

“Don’t think, drive.” 

So he drove.

———

Tyler had been standing in front of the door to the townhouse for five minutes now. He had zoned out, letting his mind wander back to his past and reminding himself why he shouldn’t trust anyone. His right hand was suspended in midair with the keys dangling from his fingers, lightly blowing in the wind.

A particularly hard gust of wind snapped him out of his thoughts and he shook his head, trying to forget about the darkness currently in his head. He unlocked the door and walked into the house, the faint sound of the TV was coming from the family room. 

“Mark?” Tyler asked.

“I’m in here,” Mark yelled from the family room.

Tyler kicked off his shoes and hung up his jacket on the coat rack. He slowly walked down the hallway until he reached the family room where Mark was spread out on the couch with a blanket thrown over him.

“What’s wrong?” Mark sat up immediately when he saw Tyler’s facial expression.

“I let myself zone out earlier, got caught up in my past.” Tyler rubbed his eyes and sat on the couch next to Mark.

“Why? You usually only zone out when something happens.” 

“Brendon and Josh both asked me to hang out. I know I’m overreacting I just can’t stop thinking about my past friends, I don’t want anymore bad things to happen to me. I can’t handle it.” Tyler said as he rested his face on a pillow and put his legs over Mark’s lap.

“I’ve met both Josh and Brendon. Tyler, I promise they won’t do anything bad to you. And if they do, I’ll get Pete to beat them up just like he did with Dominic.” Mark said.

“I don’t know, Mark. I’m scared.”

“You know once you get out of the house and hang out, you’ll have a great time. This is good for you, Tyler. I’m being completely honest when I say that I’ve seen some huge improvements in how you’ve been acting the last few weeks.” 

“I’m just good at hiding things.” Tyler mumbled.

“Tyler.” Mark said firmly. Tyler glanced up at him. “Do you feel okay? Are you getting better? Be honest.”

“I don’t feel better. I don’t feel like I’ve improved.” Tyler let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. “I don’t think I’ll ever get better.”

“Of course you’re going to get better,” Mark looked sad and tired. “Even though it may take a while, you’re going to recover from your past and be happy again.”

“Well I’ve been recovering for years now, I’m sick of waiting. I just want to be happy again.” Tyler shut his eyes to prevent tears from slipping out.

“Don’t cry, Tyler. Let’s stop talking about it.”

“Okay,” Tyler said quietly. “Should I tell Josh that I can hang out tomorrow?” 

“Yes, do it. You’ll be okay and if anything happens you can always text me and I’ll help with whatever you need.” Mark assured.

Tyler nodded pulled out his phone. “If Brendon mentions hanging out again I’ll just tell him we can get lunch next week or something.”

“Don’t worry about it, Brendon knows what you’ve been through, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Thank you, Mark. You’re an amazing friend.” Tyler said as he smiled from where his head rested on the pillow.

Mark smiled in response and changed the TV channel to a Christmas music station while Tyler texted Josh back.

_[To Josh]_  
_sure, i’m available tomorrow, text me the details_

Tyler took a deep breath after he sent the message and set his phone down on the coffee table. Mark smiled in sympathy, he knew Tyler was having a hard time.

“You’ll be okay, Tyler.” he said softly.

Tyler smiled and shut his eyes, drifting into a deep sleep with Christmas music playing in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the annoying girl who works at McDonald's is supposed to be Taylor Swift.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler and Josh hang out again.

Tyler woke up at about 10 in the morning, both him and Mark had ended up falling asleep on the couch together. He opened his eyes and squinted as they adjusted to the light coming through the windows.

Quietly and slowly, he took off his blanket and went upstairs into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Once he was finished, he got dressed and checked his phone.

_[Text Message from Josh: 10:37 AM]_  
_Text me your address and I’ll pick you up around 12._

Tyler replied with his address and then went downstairs to make breakfast. As he was pouring himself a bowl of cereal, Mark walked into the kitchen rubbing his tired eyes.

“Good morning,” he said sleepily.

“Morning, Josh said he would pick me up around 12, is that okay with you?” Tyler asked.

Mark nodded and sat down at the kitchen table. “Yeah, that’s fine. Are you nervous?”

Tyler joined Mark at the kitchen table with his bowl of cereal. He sighed and said, “Of course I am.”

“It’s okay, Tyler. Of course you’ll be nervous at first but you're going to have a great time.”

Tyler ate his cereal and didn’t respond. He knew he would probably have fun with Josh but he was still nervous at the thought of going out with someone other than Mark. 

Once Tyler finished eating his breakfast, he passed the time by watching Christmas movies with Mark. They were in the middle of watching ‘Home Alone 2’ when the door bell rang.

“That’s probably Josh, do you want me to walk you to the door?” Mark asked.

Tyler shook his head, “No, I’ll be fine.” 

“Have fun, man. You’ll be okay.” Mark said as he noticed Tyler’s nervous facial expression.

Tyler walked down the hallway until he reached the door. He unlocked it and opened it to see Josh with his cheeks tinted a light pink from the cold and a grey beanie over his hair. He looked so pretty.

“Hi,” Tyler said, admiring his beauty.

“Hey, I’m taking you to a super cool place today, I think you’ll love it.” Josh smiled, he looked excited.

Tyler pulled on his jacket and left the house, closing the door behind him. 

“Where are we going?” Tyler asked as Josh opened the door of his blue pickup truck for him.

“It’s a surprise.” Josh smiled mischievously and closed the passenger door of the car after Tyler had sat down in his seat. He walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat, turning the key in the ignition.

Josh turned up the volume on his radio and Tyler realized he had a Grouplove CD playing.

“Is this Grouplove?” Tyler asked in excitement.

“Yeah, I put the CD in just for you.” Josh said as he glanced over to Tyler who smiled.

As Josh drove to their surprise destination, he sang along to some of the Grouplove songs and laughed when Tyler pointed out that he was off key.

“That’s the point, I’m singing badly.” Josh smiled and turned the volume up even higher.

Tyler laughed, he felt comfortable with Josh.

_I don’t even remember why I was nervous_ , Tyler thought as he stared at Josh who was now singing ‘Tongue Tied’ at the top of his lungs.

When they arrived at a large building, Josh turned down the music and parked his car.

“So this is a music hall, my friend Dallon’s parents work here and since I’m close to Dallon, they gave me a key to this place and told me I could come practice on days they weren’t having any shows or events. They’re closed today so I wanted to show you around, I come here really often.” Josh said, he looked nervous to see Tyler’s reaction.

“Dude, that is so cool. Let’s go, I’m excited.” Tyler said as he opened the door to Josh’s car and stepped out onto the pavement of the parking lot.

They walked side by side to the front door of the music hall. Josh pulled out the key from his pocket and unlocked the set of double doors and held them open for Tyler who thanked him and walked inside.

They stepped into the empty, spacious room and looked around. It had about a thousand seats with aisles that all led to the stage in the front. Since it was close to the holidays, there were Christmas lights that lined the perimeter of the ceiling.

“Sick,” Tyler whispered to himself as he walked down one of the long aisles to get to the stage.

Josh smiled as he watched Tyler admire the auditorium, this place was one of his safe spaces.

When they reached the stage, Tyler and Josh went up the small set of stairs and Tyler sat on the bench in front of a grand piano.

“Am I allowed to play this?” Tyler asked.

“Of course,” Josh said. He pulled over a chair from the orchestra section and sat in front of the piano, staring at Tyler and waiting for him to play.

Tyler took a deep breath and began playing the chorus of a song that he wrote a few months ago. He had decided to name it ‘Ode To Sleep.’ Although he didn’t sing the lyrics, Josh was amazed by his beautiful playing.

Tyler let his head tilt back, his eyes shut as his hands glided across the keys of the piano. He had never felt more relaxed than he did now, it was completely quiet inside of the empty auditorium except for the sound of the piano echoing off of the walls. 

Once he had played enough of the song, he took his fingers off of the keys and opened his eyes to see Josh with a look of amazement on his face.

“You’re just as good as I thought you’d be.” he said quietly.

Tyler smiled and ducked his head downwards so that Josh wouldn’t see his blush. 

“Can you sing?” Josh asked.

“Uh- I can but it’s not good. I’m not good.” Tyler stuttered.

“Come on, I bet you’re not that bad.” Josh assured.

“I am, trust me. I write music but I don’t sing.” Tyler said as he shook his head.

“Okay, that’s fine. You don't have to sing or do anything you aren’t comfortable with, okay? We’re friends now, I want you to always feel comfortable around me.” Josh spoke slowly and quietly.

Tyler glanced up at him. The stage lights were casting a golden glow on him, he looked ethereal. Tyler liked him a lot.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Josh nodded and they sat in peaceful silence before Tyler remembered something.

“Didn’t you say you could play the drums?” Tyler asked.

Josh smiled. “Yeah, want me to play for you?”

“Of course I do, do they have a drum set here?” 

Josh nodded. “Yeah, they have tons of other instruments in the backroom. Do you want to check it out?”

Tyler nodded excitedly and Josh led him backstage into a hallway with multiple doors on each side. 

“Most of these are dressing rooms and bathrooms but in the very back,” Josh paused and opened a door at the end of the hallway. “There’s the instrument room.” He gestured to the interior of the room and Tyler stepped inside.

His eyes widened as he took in the size of the room, there were instruments scattered everywhere.

“They have basically every instrument you can think of in here.” Josh said as he walked over to a drum set and sat down on the small circular seat in front of it.

Tyler leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Play for me.” he said.

Josh smiled and started with a basic two handed beat on the hi-hat but then proceeded to hit the crash cymbal and add in the snare and bass drums. He was incredible.

Once he finished playing, he set the drums sticks down so they were resting on the rim of the snare drum and looked up to Tyler.

“Well? What did you think?”

“I think you’re the best drummer I’ve ever heard.”

Josh waved his hand as to dismiss the compliment. “Stop it, thats a lie.”

“It’s the truth,” Tyler smiled at Josh who was blushing.

“Fine, but you're the best piano player.” Josh said.

Tyler smiled. “Okay then, it’s settled. You’re the best drummer and I’m the best piano player, let’s start a band.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Josh said as he stood up from the chair in front of the drums.

“Can I look around in here? Or are we not even allowed back here?” Tyler asked as he began to walk through the various instruments.

“Yeah, we’re allowed back here. I asked Dallon’s parents for permission a few months ago.” Josh said as he followed Tyler.

“Can Dallon play any instruments?” Tyler asked curiously as he ran his fingers over a xylophone.

“Yeah, he’s a sick bass player and he’s got a really nice voice.” Josh answered.

Tyler nodded and then suddenly stopped walking. 

“You know what we should do?” Tyler asked.

“What?”

“Let’s have a duet. You play the drums and I’ll play the piano.” Tyler turned around to face Josh and smiled.

“Now that’s a cool idea, there’s an electric piano over there, I’ll plug it in.” Josh said as he began walking over to the piano. He picked up the cord and plugged it into an outlet in the wall.

Tyler sat in front of the piano and Josh took a seat in front of his drums.

“Okay, I’m going to play a song I wrote and you just add in the drums whenever you want.” Tyler said.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing duets together and laughing whenever they made mistakes. As Tyler watched Josh laugh with adorable crinkles by his eyes, he couldn’t remember why he was even nervous to hang out in the first place. 

———

Tyler and Josh had moved back to the auditorium where Tyler was playing a quiet song on the grand piano. Josh was sat on the floor in front oh him with his legs crisscrossed as he listened to Tyler play. Both of them were at peace.

Josh had his eyes shut when Tyler finished playing the song. 

“Shouldn’t we get something for dinner? It’s like 5 PM.” Tyler said.

Josh opened his eyes and stood up from the floor.

“Yeah, sure, where do you want to go?” he asked.

Tyler thought for a moment. “How about iHop?” he suggested.

“Breakfast for dinner?” Josh asked and Tyler nodded. “You’re the best.”

Tyler smiled and grabbed his jacket as Josh did the same. 

They exited the building and got into Josh’s car as they talked about their day at the music hall. As they drove to iHop, Josh turned the radio on a low volume and they sat in comfortable silence as Grouplove played from the speakers.

When they arrived at iHop, they parked the car and Josh got out to open Tyler’s door for him.

“Thank you,” Tyler said and Josh nodded in response. 

As they approached the restaurant, they heard Christmas music playing from the speakers inside. They opened the door and a girl with light blue hair came over to them. 

“Hello, welcome to iHop. Table for two?” she asked politely. 

“Yes, please.” Josh smiled and they followed the girl to their table.

They slid into the booth and opened their menus, their eyes scanning over the various selections of food and drinks.

“My name is Ashley, I’ll be your waitress today. What can I get for you to drink?” she asked.

“We’ll both just have water, thank you.” Josh said politely as he glanced to Tyler who was awkwardly staring at the table.

“Okay, I’ll be back.” she said.

“Oh, wait.” Josh said. The waitress stopped walking and came back to their table. 

“Yes?”

“I like your hair.” Josh smiled. 

The waitress laughed and blushed. “Oh, thank you. Yours is nice too, I love the color.” 

“Thanks,” Josh responded.

The waitress nodded, still smiling from Josh’s unexpected comment, and proceeded to walk back into the kitchen to get their drinks.

“I hope you're okay with just drinking water, I didn’t want to ask you in front of the waitress because I know that could be uncomfortable if there’s too much attention on you.” Josh said as he searched Tyler’s face for any signs of worry. 

Tyler smiled softly. “It’s okay, I always order water anyways. I’m sorry I can’t order things myself, it just makes me really nervous talking to new people.”

“Don’t worry about it, Tyler. I’ll order for you every time we go out to eat.” Josh said.

Tyler grinned and glanced down at his hands.

“So, tell me about yourself.” Josh said as he rested his chin on his hands and stared across the table.

“What about myself?” Tyler asked confusedly.

“Anything.”

“Well, my name is Tyler Robert Joseph, I-”

“No, none of the basic stuff. Just tell me about your life, where you grew up, what you enjoy doing, anything.”

Tyler starts out slowly at first but eventually he begins to ramble. He talks about how he grew up in Columbus, Ohio and has lived there for his entire life, how he used to play basketball even though he began to lose interest in it during his high school years, how Mark was his best friend throughout everything he’s been through, and how he developed an intense love for music when he was just in elementary school.

When he finishes talking, he smiles at Josh who had looked interested throughout everything he said.

“What about you, Josh?”

Josh talks about his family and how he loves his brother and sisters, how he started drumming when he was at a rebellious stage in his teenage life, how his parents wouldn’t allow him to listen to Green Day, and how his best friend was a girl named Debby.

They both took turns talking about each other’s lives until they felt like there was nothing left to say. The waitress had come and gone, always smiling as she walked away, thinking of what a cute couple they would make. 

Time passed by quickly as they ate their pancakes and discussed their favorite TV shows, books, movies, anything and everything they could think of. They were both so interested in what the other had to say.

When Josh checked his phone, he saw that the time was 7:30 PM and realized they had been at the restaurant for almost 2 hours. 

“We should get going, it’s getting late.” Josh said.

Tyler checked his phone and agreed when he saw the time. 

The waitress gave them their bill, which Tyler insisted on paying half of. After much arguing, Josh reluctantly agreed and they left the restaurant with pleasant smiles on their faces.

The ride home consisted of Josh badly singing Grouplove songs again, and this time, Tyler sang along.

When Josh pulled up in the parking lot in front of the townhouses, he turned down the music and smiled at Tyler. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Josh spoke.

“You’re amazing, Tyler.” Josh began with raw emotion evident in his voice. “I am so amazed by you and your ability to effortlessly play the piano and I’m so interested in everything you have to say, even if it’s just something simple. Everything about you is so interesting to me.” 

Tyler’s eyes widened, nobody had ever said something like that to him before.

“I’m amazed by your drumming and everything you have to say too.” Tyler responded in shock.

Josh blushed and ducked his head to laugh softly.

“We need to hang out again, okay? Text me. You’re an amazing person, Tyler Joseph.” Josh said.

Tyler could barely move, he was frozen under the attention he was receiving from Josh.

“Y-yeah, let’s hang out again soon.” Tyler stuttered as he got out from Josh’s car and closed the door behind him.

Josh smiled and waved goodbye as Tyler walked up to the front door of the townhouse. He turned around one more time and waved as Josh drove away.

Tyler unlocked the door of the townhouse and walked inside with a dreamy smile on his face. He hung up his coat and walked into the family room where Mark was sitting.

He looked up from his phone when he saw Tyler. 

“I take it you had a good time?” he said as he noticed Tyler’s smile.

“I did.” Tyler confirmed as he sighed happily and sat down on the couch next to Mark. He was still in disbelief from what Josh had said to him.

Mark smiled, he was happy that Tyler was finally making friends. He turned up the volume on the TV and grabbed a blanket for Tyler. 

“You know what would make your day even better?” Mark asked as he got up from the couch.

Tyler smiled. “What?”

“Hot chocolate,” Mark answered. “‘I’ll go make some, you can watch whatever you want on TV or go to sleep, do anything you want, it doesn’t matter. I’m happy you had a good day, you deserve it.” 

Having Mark and Josh as his friends made Tyler realize how truly lucky he was. Whenever he spent time with them, he forgot about his past and actually felt like he was special for once. 

“You’re the best, Mark.” Tyler said as he snuggled into the red wool blanket.

Mark smiled and walked into the kitchen to begin making the hot chocolate. Tyler sat on the couch with the blanket engulfing him and the TV playing ‘Joy to the World’ in the background of a random Christmas movie. 

This was the best day he’s had in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading the comments on this fic make me so happy, thank you guys so much for reading :) I am so excited to write the next chapter, I think you guys are going to really like it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad stuff happens.  
> Josh and Tyler talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really important chapter regarding Tyler's character development and Josh and Tyler's relationship. I hope you guys enjoy it :)

For once, Tyler was actually having a good day at work.

Hanging out with Josh yesterday had put him in a great mood and he finally felt like a normal person with friends for the first time in years. 

“You seem happy today, Tyler.” Brendon pointed out, glancing towards Tyler as he made a sandwich.

Tyler smiled. “I am very happy today.”

Brendon didn’t say anything else, he smiled and placed the sandwich in a bag and walked out of the kitchen to deliver it to the person at the window. 

“Is Tyler in here?” asked a voice that Tyler knew right away.

The kitchen quieted down and a few people pointed to Tyler who froze under all of the attention.

Taylor smiled, she looked evil. “You need to work at the window today. Follow me.”

Tyler’s good mood immediately shattered into a million pieces. He had specifically requested to always have a kitchen job, he didn’t want to work at the window because that would mean he would have to talk to strangers.

“Did you not hear me? Hurry up, we don’t have all day.” Taylor snapped as she stormed off through a hallway.

Tyler had no choice, so he followed her. 

———

After working at the window job for about an hour or so, Tyler’s anxiety was at an all time high. He was stuttering awkwardly when talking to customers, stressing about getting the orders right, and praying that nobody would get mad at him if he made a mistake.

So far, every customer had been nice. He had about 30 minutes left until his lunch break, he had to get through a few more people before he could take a breather and eat with Brendon. Then, maybe he could return to work in the kitchen for the rest of his shift. 

Tyler stared at the computer screen that was displaying all of the orders. The next person wanted two twenty piece nuggets, he grabbed the appropriate bag that had been packaged by Brendon and turned around to face the window. That was when his entire life froze.

“Tyler?”

Dominic was at the window. 

The person who had ruined his entire life, who he hadn’t seen in almost ten years, was sitting in his car a few feet away from him with an evil smirk on his face.

“I didn’t know you worked at McDonald’s, that’s low even for you.” Dominic threw his head back and laughed loudly.

Tyler felt himself heat up in embarrassment.

“Honestly, I expected more from you, Tyler. We’re supposed to be graduated from college by now and have actual jobs. I bet you didn’t even go to college did you? Maybe you applied but they didn’t accept you because you're a gay dumbass.” Dominic sneered.

Tyler couldn’t move, he felt like he was glued to the floor. 

“Does your boss know you’re gay? Maybe I should tell them, I bet they’d love to know so they could fire you.” 

Tyler said nothing, he continued to stare at the person he hated the most in the entire world. 

Dominic looked pissed. “Listen, you fucking idiot, I know you’re shocked to see me again but I actually need my food. I’m taking it to Ryan, do you remember him?” Dominic smirked again. “Just in case, let me refresh your memory, he’s the one who beat your ass until you cried.” 

Tyler almost threw up at the memory.

“Too bad your stupid gay friends had to come rescue you, if they hadn’t come maybe we would have beat you up until your injuries had become fatal. What a shame.” Dominic sneered in mock sadness.

“I’m sure Ryan would love to see you again, I’ll let him know I saw your pathetic ass working at McDonald’s today.” He laughed again. “McDonald’s, out of all places for a possible college graduate to work at, I pity you, Tyler. You’re a fucking loser. I’m going to leave here and you know where I’m going afterwards? Straight to your mother’s house. And if she doesn’t answer the door, I’ll send her a letter. I’m sure she would love to know what her beloved son has been up to for the past ten years, oh wait, you’ve done nothing with your life.” 

At the mention of his mother, Tyler snapped out of it and closed the window. He turned around and walked into the kitchen. His legs moved on their own accord, his actions felt mechanical, his ears were ringing, nothing around him seemed real. 

He reached the kitchen and tapped on Brendon’s shoulder. Brendon turned around and his eyes widened when he saw Tyler.

“Dude, you’re really fucking pale right now. Are you okay?” he asked in concern.

Tyler shook his head, and brought both hands up to his mouth, trying to catch his breath.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me, Tyler.” Brendon brought his face closer to Tyler and scolded the employees who were staring at the scene in front of them. 

Tyler leaned in and whispered in Brendon’s ear with the weakest voice, “Dominic is at the window.”

Brendon dropped the sandwich he was working on and stormed out of the kitchen. Tyler weakly followed after him, he just wanted to go home.

When Dominic sees Brendon and Tyler, he laughs even harder than before.

“Did you bring another one of your gay friends to tell me off? Ooh, I’m so scared.” he mocked in fear.

Brendon leaned out of the window, getting as close as he could to Dominic’s car.

“Shut your damn motherfucking mouth, you piece of god damn shit. You listen to me right now or I’ll climb out of this window and beat your sorry ass.” Dominic quickly shut up and the smirk was wiped off of his face.

Now Brendon was laughing. “You put on this tough guy act but as soon as someone threatens you, you shit your pants. Now you listen here, fucker. Tyler has done absolutely nothing to you, in fact, he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my entire life. He cares about everyone, all he wants is for everyone to feel happy with their lives. You know why he's like this? Because of you. You’ve put him through so much shit and you’ve changed him as a person.” Dominic smirked and opened his mouth to say something but Brendon held his hand out. “Shut the fuck up. I’m speaking right now. As I was saying, I know you think you’ve only changed Tyler in negative ways but actually, you’re completely wrong. Tyler is so strong, you’ve done so much shit to ruin his life but he’s still pushing forward and he’s still taking his life one day at a time. I don’t know what you’ve been doing with your life, Dominic, but I’m sure it’s nowhere near what Tyler’s been doing. Tyler helps people, he helps his friends, he helps me, he helps everyone he cares about. What do you do besides harass people? Oh wait, I forgot, maybe you’re still trying to pursue a basketball career? But if I remember correctly you were just a benchwarmer in high school.” Dominic was furious, he looked like he was going to say something again but Brendon immediately shut it down.

“Shut your damn mouth.” He yelled and Dominic reluctantly shut up again. “Tyler knows what it feels like to have nobody to talk to, he knows what it feels like to be alone and deep down inside, I think you probably know too. People who harass others and try to ruin their lives are actually the ones who are unhappy. So the joke is on you, Dominic. Congratulations, you’re a worthless piece of shit.”

Dominic looked absolutely furious. 

“I’m going to report you both to your boss, this treatment is completely unfair! I can get you both fired!” He yelled.

“Oh, well it’s a good thing we’re both quitting after this. Nice try, bitch. You thought you could try and ruin Tyler’s life even more didn’t you? Think again, asshole. Also, you want to hear something funny? Sometimes the homophones who bully gay people are actually gay themselves.” Dominic’s jaw dropped, he looked extremely offended.

“Me? Gay? You people must be fucking insane.” He spit in disgust.

“Are you sure about that? I’ve seen you and Ryan eating here before. I didn’t tell Tyler because I didn’t want him to worry, but I watched you guys walk back to your car after your meal, and I won’t go into deep details but I’ll just say that maybe you should invest in some tinted windows. I guess that would explain the semen stains on your back seat.” Brendon’s eyes flickered to the back seat and Dominic’s head whipped around to look as well.

“You son of a bitch! How dare you treat me like this?” Dominic screamed in outrage, his face heated up in embarrassment.

“Treat you like what? I’m only treating you the way you treated Tyler. It hurts doesn’t it? Maybe you should think before you act like an asshole to an innocent person next time.”

“I wasn’t even mean to Tyler, it’s his fault that he’s a fucking loser!” Dominic sounded like a child now.

Brendon leaned out of the window and got closer to Dominic’s face so Tyler couldn’t hear what he said next. 

“The fucking nerve you have to say you weren’t mean to Tyler when you used him for _sex._ ” Brendon whispered furiously. “You fucking used him for your own pleasure and then you ruined his life, you turned everyone against him. You should be ashamed of yourself, you bastard.”

Dominic was speechless but he still attempted to fight back.

“The only person being mean is you, asshole.” he pointed his finger at Brendon in fury.

Brendon threw his head back and laughed. 

“Happy Holidays, Dominic. Here are your nuggets,” Brendon tossed the bag into his car and smirked. “I hope you choke on them like you choke on Ryan’s dick tonight.” 

Brendon closed the window and turned around to walk to the kitchen, the vague sound of Dominic shouting “You bitch!” was audible through the window. Tyler, who was standing in the corner of the room for the entire conversation, was in pure shock.

“Come on, Tyler.” Brendon spoke softly.

Tyler followed Brendon through the hallway until they got to the kitchen where their boss was helping out the employees with making the food.

Brendon took off his name tag and placed in on the table in front of him.

“I quit.” He declared.

The kitchen became dead silent as everyone turned around to watch the scene before them. Tyler slowly took his name tag off as well and placed it on the table next to Brendon’s.

“Me too,” he whispered quietly, his voice cracking in the middle of the small phrase.

Their boss looked surprised. “What? Why? You two are some of the best employees we have.”

Taylor snickered at that and Brendon gave her a death glare. 

“We’ll drop off our uniforms tomorrow. Thank you for the opportunity.” Brendon spoke firmly and then proceeded to lead Tyler outside through the back door of the restaurant.

“Are you okay?” Brendon asked.

All of the emotions were catching up to Tyler, he shook his head. 

“Come on, do you want to go in my car or stay outside?” 

Tyler shook his head.

“Can you speak, Tyler? Do you want to stay outside?”

Tyler nodded his head as if to say yes and Brendon led him to the brick wall of the restaurant. Tyler slid down the wall and sat on the pavement, covering his mouth with his hands and bringing his knees up to his chest. He felt sick to his stomach.

Brendon sat down next to him and made sure to keep a reasonable amount of space in between them.

“Tyler, you’re shaking really badly right now and I have a feeling it’s not because of the cold.” Brendon said in concern. Tyler was trembling and his teeth were chattering loudly.

“Do you want me to call someone to come pick you up?” Brendon asked.

Tyler barely nodded and took out his phone from his back pocket, unlocked it, and handed it over to Brendon.

Brendon called Mark first and the phone rang about three or four times before it told him to leave a message.

“God damnit, he’s probably at work.” Brendon mumbled as he exited out of the phone call before it began recording his message.

Tyler was crying now, tears were dripping down his face and he was sniffling continuously.

“I’m sorry, Tyler. I’ll look through your contacts and see who else I can call.” Brendon said as he scrolled through Tyler’s phone.

“How about Josh? Do you want me to call Josh?” Brendon asked.

Tyler nodded and wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve, he couldn’t stop shaking and crying.

Brendon clicked the call button and waited for Josh to pick up.

“Hi, this is Brendon, Tyler’s friend and coworker.” He said when Josh picked up the phone. “Um- I’m here with Tyler. He’s having a panic attack because something really bad happened at work, I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you the details but Tyler really needs someone to take him home. I don’t know if he’s okay or not, he won’t walk to me and he’s shaking and crying.” 

There was talking on the other line of the phone.

“Uh, yeah. We’re at McDonald’s in the back of the restaurant where the trucks make deliveries. Okay, see you soon.” Brendon hung up and moved to sit in front of Tyler.

“It’s okay, Tyler. Josh is coming to pick you up, everything is going to be okay.” Brendon said, attempting to comfort him.

Tyler felt so sick. He was freezing, nauseous, scared, and still in disbelief that he saw the person who made his life a living hell for the first time in years. 

Josh’s blue pick up truck pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot about ten minutes later. The time before Josh arrived consisted of Brendon trying to get Tyler to calm down, but nothing had worked.

Josh stepped out of his car and slowly walked over to Brendon and Tyler who were still sitting on the ground. Tyler had his knees brought up to his chest and his head resting in his arms so his face wasn’t visible.

Brendon stood up when he saw Josh approaching and smiled awkwardly. “Uh, hi. I’m Brendon.” He extended his hand outwards for Josh to shake.

“Hi, I’m Josh. Nice to meet you.” He shook Brendon’s hand and glanced at Tyler’s shaking figure. 

“Um, I’m just going to go get Tyler’s jacket, I’ll leave you two alone for a little while, okay?” Brendon scratched his head awkwardly.

“Alright,” Josh smiled politely and once Brendon left, he sat crisscrossed in front of Tyler.

“Hi, Tyler.” Josh spoke quietly.

Tyler didn’t respond, he kept his face hidden in his arms.

“I know you’re probably really scared right now. It’s okay, I’m going to try and help you. Can you shrug your shoulders or move so I know that you’re listening?” Josh asked quietly.

Tyler slowly lifted his head up and made eye contact with Josh. His face was covered in tear tracks and his cheeks were red from the cold.

“Okay,” Josh whispered more to himself. “Is it okay if we do some breathing exercises?”

Tyler nodded and held out both of his hands. Josh confusedly stared at Tyler’s hands, unsure of what he wanted him to do. Tyler maintained eye contact with Josh and grabbed both of his hands, squeezing them tightly and softly running his thumbs over his knuckles. 

“Oh,” Josh breathed. 

Tyler smiled softly, a single tear dripping out of his left eye and running down his cheek, he was still shaking.

“Okay, I want you to start by taking a deep breath and holding it for about eight seconds. I’ll do it with you.” They both inhaled and stared at each other in silence, the only sound was the wind blowing.

“Exhale,” Josh said, he felt his heartbeat slow down. “Do it again, until you feel calmer.”

Tyler blinked slowly and repeated his previous actions, tightening his hold on Josh’s hands. Josh squeezed back and scooted closer so that their knees were touching. They both exhaled at the same time, always maintaining eye contact.

It took about five minutes for Tyler to stop shaking. When he did, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the brick wall.

“Are you okay now?” Josh asked.

Tyler nodded, keeping his eyes closed.

Josh moved so he was leaning against the brick wall and sitting next to Tyler. Brendon came outside a few minutes later and looked at Tyler who was no longer shaking.

“I got your coat, Tyler.” He held out a green winter coat with fur lining the hood. Tyler stood up and slipped on the coat, zipping it up.

Brendon put both of his hands on each of Tyler’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. 

“Listen man, I’m going to go inside and give a better explanation to the boss on why we quit okay? Please text me tonight and let me know if you’re doing okay.” Brendon said quietly.

Tyler nodded and gave a weak smile.

“Josh, take good care of him.” Brendon smiled and waved goodbye before going back inside of the restaurant.

“Tyler, I want to take you somewhere, are you okay with being in a car for about 15 minutes while I drive or do you want to stay here for a little while?” Josh asked from where he was sitting against the brick wall.

Tyler held out his hand and helped Josh stand up from the pavement. 

“I take that as a yes?” Josh asked. Tyler nodded.

Once they had gotten in the car, nobody said anything. Josh turned the radio on to a Christmas music station and put the volume on low. Tyler rested his head against the window and stared straight ahead for the entire drive. Occasionally Josh would take his eyes off of the road to glance at him and make sure he was okay. He was really worried about Tyler.

About 15 minutes later, Josh pulled into a clearing in the forest. In the middle of a bare spot with no trees, Josh parked the car and turned towards Tyler.

“Sometimes when I’m having rough days and the music hall isn’t available, I come here and I sit in the back of my truck with a bunch of blankets and pillows. It’s okay if you don’t want to go outside again, I know it’s cold but this place is special to me. It really helps me calm down.” Josh rambled nervously.

Tyler smiled and nodded, getting out of the car. Josh grabbed three large blankets and four pillows from the back of the truck and got out as well. Tyler was already sitting on the bed of the truck with his knees brought up to his chest. 

“Here, take these.” Josh said as he climbed onto the truck and handed Tyler the blankets and pillows. 

They organized the pillows behind them and laid down, looking up into the cloudy sky. Josh put the three blankets over them and turned to look at Tyler.

“Are you cold?” Josh asked.

Tyler shook his head and closed his eyes. Josh looked back up to the sky and they laid in silence for hours. There were so many unspoken words between them and so many unanswered questions. Josh wanted to talk to Tyler but he wasn’t going to push him to say anything. He knew how it felt after panic attacks, Tyler needed to be given some space and if he didn’t want to talk, Josh would respect that.

They laid side by side in silence until it was dark outside. The full moon was directly above the car, shining its light on both of Tyler and Josh who were awake but remaining quiet. The stars had come out as well, each little speck of light twinkling ever so often.

“Josh,” Tyler suddenly whispered. His voice sounded weak and tired.

Josh jumped from the sudden noise and looked over to Tyler.

“Yeah?”

“I want to tell you everything.” Tyler gulped and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of air.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Josh said, realizing that Tyler was nervous. “You don’t have to tell me anything.”

“But I want to, I really want to, I’m just scared.” Tyler opened his glassy eyes and looked towards Josh. 

“I don’t know if this would be any help but I can talk first if you want.” Josh sat up, taking the blankets with him. Tyler followed his lead and scooted closer to him so that their sides were touching.

“My entire life I’ve never had a lot of friends.” Josh began. “The only friend that I’ve ever completely trusted is Debby, and now probably you too. In high school I had this friend named Justin. He was so cool, I wanted to be just like him. I guess when I was a freshman I was young and stupid, so I told him a lot of things I had never told anyone. One day, I told him that I was gay. He seemed like he was cool with it, and we hung out for the rest of the day so I thought everything between us was okay. When I went to school the next day, I got a text from him telling me to meet him in the bathroom. I thought something was wrong, like maybe he was sick, so I went to the bathroom and him and his friends beat me up. It was him and four of his friends and nobody heard me calling for help. They ended up breaking one of my ribs, giving me two black eyes, tons of bruises, and a lot of other stuff that I don’t even remember. I was in so much pain for the longest time. After my parents found out, I was forced to tell them I was gay. My parents accepted me, which I guess was all that really mattered. So for my last three years of high school, my parents switched me to another school. We didn’t have to move, it was a 30 minute drive everyday, even though it was a waste of gasoline, my parents did it to protect me. At my new school, nothing as bad as before ever happened, but I had a few friends. One was this girl named Jessica, I was pretty close with her because we had biology class together. After the semester ended, I found out she was just using me to get answers for our homework and she was actually homophobic too. I was pretty devastated about that, but I made other friends quickly. I had another one named Isaac, he ended up being a major asshole. He used me for a lot of shit. The most funny one is this guy named Tim, he used me for a homecoming king vote. In my opinion, that’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard of. After he had won homecoming king, he told me to fuck off because I was annoying and too clingy. There were some other people too, but the point is, for my entire life I’ve been taken advantage of for my kindness. That’s why I dyed my hair and got tattoos and piercings, I was sick of people thinking I was an easy pushover. So now that I have the tough guy look, I guess not as many people have been taking advantage of me.” Josh finished talking and wiped his eyes before he started crying. 

Tyler buried his face in Josh’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around the middle of his torso, Josh responded by wrapping his arm around Tyler and bringing him closer.

“I should also probably mention that I’ve struggled with depression ever since I was in high school. I’m okay now, I’m not depressed anymore, but I still have bad days where I feel like I’m going to go back to how I felt in the past. My parents signed me up for therapy after I told them how I felt, it helped me a lot. At first, I was furious at them for sending me to a stranger to talk about my problems, but I’m so grateful now. My parents have helped me so much, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank them enough. Same with Debby, she helped me overcome my depression and become happy again. I guess what I’ve learned is that I have to focus on the good people in my life and be grateful that I have them instead of being stuck in the past and focusing on the people who have taken advantage of me.” Josh wrapped his arms around Tyler’s shoulders and nuzzled his face into his soft hair.

“I’ll never take advantage of you, Josh.” Tyler spoke softly and hugged Josh tighter.

Josh smiled with his eyes peacefully closed. “Anyways, enough about me. Are you feeling okay now?”

“I don’t know.” Tyler responded as he sighed.

“Do you want to talk about what happened? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 

Tyler took his face out from Josh’s shoulder and stared at him with tired eyes.

“Can I put my head on your lap? I want to look at you when I talk.” 

The question caught Josh off guard and his eyes widened. “Oh, uh, sure.” He stuttered.

Tyler scooted his body away from Josh and then lowered his head to rest on his lap, bending his knees in a comfortable way so that they weren’t pressing against the wall of the truck. 

“I’m going to trust you, Josh. I’m going to tell you things that I’ve only told Mark.” Tyler stared up at him. 

Josh nodded. “Okay, I won’t tell anybody.”

Tyler took a deep breath and then began to talk.

“When I was in my senior year of high school, I dated this guy on my basketball team. He seemed nice at first, but it was a really unhealthy relationship. He was a complete ass to me sometimes but I was blinded by stupidity. I liked him, I didn’t love him. I’ve never loved anyone.” Tyler paused, inhaled a sharp breath of cold air and then continued.

“One time he invited me to a party at his friend Ryan’s house. I brought my friends with me, Mark and Pete. I was having a shitty time, Dominic ignored me for basically the whole thing until he brought me to this room in the house. He locked me in there and his friends told me that our whole relationship was just a bet. Dominic didn’t really like me, they just wanted to prove that I was gay. Long story short, they beat me up until I could barely move. Mark and Pete found me while they were beating me up, I guess they had suspected something was wrong. Pete punched Dominic square in the face and that was that. We left the party, Mark drove me to a hospital, and the next morning I went home to find out that Dominic had told my family that I was gay. My mom kicked me out.” Tyler paused and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the tears would go away.

Josh thread his fingers through Tyler’s hair and massaged his head. 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to continue.” He whispered as he pulled apart the soft strands of hair.

“I’m okay,” Tyler opened his eyes and continued. “I don’t know if my dad cared that much, he was pretty quiet during the whole thing, but my mom was possessed. She kept screaming at me, telling me to pack my stuff and get the hell out. She was really homophobic, that’s why I never told her anything about my sexuality. My brothers and sister watched me walk out of the house with my suitcases, I felt betrayed. They didn’t even try to stand up for me, but I guess if i was in their shoes I would have stayed quiet too. My mom was insane, she was out of control. But if I loved someone enough, I’d do anything for them. I guess my siblings didn’t care enough to try and stop me from leaving. I haven’t seen them since that day.” 

“Tyler, don’t say that, they probably loved you. I’m sure they regret not saying anything.” Josh said as he used his thumb to brush a loose strand of hair off of Tyler’s forehead.

“It’s fine, I don’t blame them for anything. I never liked my mom anyways. She only kept me around because I was the best on my basketball team. I only liked basketball when I was in middle school, I lost interest once I got into high school but my mom refused to let me quit. I had to keep up my family’s athletic image. She forced me to make 500 baskets everyday before I could even eat dinner. I guess that’s why I became so good at basketball, she sculpted me into the perfect son and when she found out I was gay, she didn’t even think twice about kicking me out. I moved in with Mark afterwards, his family gladly accepted me, they were all so nice to me. At first I was devastated about being kicked out from my old house, but I eventually got over it. I didn’t have to make 500 baskets before dinner now, it was actually nice to live in a normal, healthy environment. When I went back to school the next Monday, Dominic had told the coach of the basketball team that I was gay. Back then, a lot more people were homophobes than they are now, so I got kicked off of the team. I didn’t care that much until I found out that Dominic had told the entire school about my sexuality. He had posted flyers on the walls and slipped them into lockers, everyone knew. Of course, there were a few people who had come up to me and told me they accepted me. I have a lot of respect for those people, I wish I could thank them for doing that. But a lot of my people in my school were homophobic, I got beat up a lot. I would be in the bathroom and come out of the stall to wash my hands and get punched right in the gut. I lived my life in constant fear. When I graduated from high school, I was hoping that my family would come to see me. I knew my mom most likely wouldn’t, but I was searching the crowd for my dad’s face or maybe one of my siblings. I saw nobody. Nobody came to my graduation, and for some reason that hurt me so badly. To see all of my friends run up to hug their parents after they got their diplomas was so painful. I had nobody to hug, I only had Mark. What should have been one of the best days of my life was one of my worst. I had struggled with depression ever since my freshman year of high school, I considered suicide a lot of times. I don't want to talk about that though, it’s too hard for me to even think about. I’m still struggling with depression to this day, I want to get better.” Tyler closed his eyes and sighed.

Josh was quiet for a few minutes, he continued massaging Tyler’s head. 

“I have so much respect for you, Tyler. You’ve been through so much, you’re so strong. You should be so proud of yourself.” Josh whispered. 

Tyler sat up and slowly straddled Josh’s legs so that their chests were pressed together. He stared into Josh’s sparkling brown eyes and felt a tear run down his cheek. Josh smiled and his own eyes became glassy with tears as well.

“Why are you crying?” Josh asked with a small smile on his face.

Tyler smiled and held Josh’s face with both of hands, running his thumbs over his soft cheeks. A few more tears escaped his eyes and he sniffled.

“I just can’t believe I met someone as wonderful as you.” 

Tyler leaned in slowly and lifted Josh’s head up with his hands. Their faces were so close, their breaths mingling together and the only sound was their silent breathing. Tyler closed the distance between them and their lips met in a single chaste kiss. When they broke apart, they stared at each other for a few seconds until their lips met again. They kissed over and over again with no intention of going any further. It was peaceful, they were happy.

They broke apart and stared at each other with smiles on both of their faces until Josh leaned in again and kissed in between Tyler’s eyebrows, on both of his cheekbones, his temples, over his eyelids, the tip of his nose, everywhere he could think of. Tyler was giggling and turning his face away but Josh cupped his cheek in one hand and pressed a final kiss to his lips again.

“You’re so adorable.” Josh said as Tyler giggled even more.

Tyler stared at Josh for a few more seconds before he rested his head on his shoulder.

“We should go home, Mark is probably worrying about me.” Tyler said.

“Okay, good idea. You get in the car, I’ll get all of the blankets okay?” 

Tyler nodded and Josh gathered up the pillows and blankets before putting them in the back of the car and sitting in the drivers seat.

On the drive home, Josh and Tyler held hands and sang along to Christmas carols, they’ve never felt happier. 

When they got home, Josh walked Tyler to the front door and knocked. Tyler had his head rested on Josh’s shoulder with a blissful smile on his face when Mark opened the door.

“Tyler, I was so worried about you.” Mark said as he pulled Tyler in for a long hug. He looked over Tyler’s shoulder and smiled at Josh who was still standing at the doorway.

“You look tired, dude. I’m not going to make you explain anything tonight, okay? But tomorrow I want a full explanation. Only if you’re comfortable though.” Mark said as he held Tyler by his shoulders at arms length.

“I’m okay, Mark. In fact, I feel better than I have in a while.” Tyler looked behind him to smile at Josh.

Mark’s eyes flickered between the two and he sighed. “You two are something else,” He said with amusement in his voice. “I’ll leave you guys alone, I’m going to bed, I’ll see you tomorrow, Tyler. Let me know if you need anything.” 

Tyler nodded, not taking his eyes off of Josh and silently mumbling goodnight to Mark who was already making his way up the stairs.

“I guess I should get going.” Josh said gesturing to his car outside.

“No,” Tyler grabbed Josh by the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him inside. “Stay here, it’s late. You can sleep on the couch.” 

Josh looked unsure.

“Please,” Tyler drew out the e until Josh cracked.

“Fine,” he said with a smile on his face. 

After Tyler had gathered some blankets and pillows for Josh, they both stood in the middle of the family room staring at each other.

Tyler pulled Josh in for a hug, burying his face in his shoulder and breathing in his scent.

“Goodnight,” he whispered.

“Goodnight, Tyler.” Josh said, rubbing his hand up and down Tyler’s back.

Tyler pulled away from the hug and grasped Josh’s face to bring him in for another kiss. After three slow kisses, Tyler smiled and rubbed his hands down Josh’s arms until he clutched both of his hands.

“Thank you for everything. You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life.” 

Josh smiled. “Same to you, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Tyler whispered. 

He walked down the hallway and since it had become a tradition, he turned around one more time and waved goodbye to Josh who was still standing in the same place as before. 

As Tyler got ready for bed, he had a smile on his face. For the first time in years, he thought he had a chance of being truly happy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the events from the day before.

Tyler wakes up at 7 AM and memories from the previous night immediately crash over him like a tidal wave.

He saw Dominic yesterday and he wasn’t having a panic attack over it. 

“What the hell?” Tyler whispered to himself, scratching his head and sitting up in his bed.

Suddenly, the memories of him and Josh flooded over him and his eyes widened.

“Josh,” he whispered.

Tyler threw the blankets off of him and scrambled downstairs, almost slipping due to his sock clad feet. He ran down the hallway until he reached the family room where Josh was sound asleep on the couch. Tyler smiled softly to himself and went into the kitchen where he opened up a cabinet and pulled out a pad of sticky notes. He grabbed a pen and uncapped it, scribbling a quick message.

_Left the house for a bit to see Brendon, I shouldn’t be gone for long. Stick around, please? -Tyler_

Tyler dropped the pen on the kitchen counter and walked over to Josh, placing the sticky note on his forehead and smiling fondly afterwards. He slowly fixed a few strands of Josh’s pink hair and then walked down the hallway to put on his jacket. 

Even though Josh was sleeping, Tyler still turned around and gave a small wave before leaving the house.

———

Apartment 69.

How ironic that Brendon would live here.

Tyler raised his fist and knocked on the door three times. About a minute later, a tired looking Brendon answered the door with his hair sticking up in different directions and bags under his eyes.

“Tyler? What are you-”

Tyler cut him off by wrapping his arms around his torso in a hug. Brendon was caught off guard but eventually wrapped his arms around Tyler’s neck in confusion. When they both pulled back from the hug, Brendon furrowed his eyebrows.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“For being an amazing friend. I was listening to everything you said to Dominic yesterday, you really put him in his place. I am so thankful to have a friend like you, Brendon. I’m sorry I haven’t said it enough, but you’re really a great person and I’m lucky to have you in my life.” Tyler smiled sheepishly at Brendon’s shocked facial expression.

“Wow uh, thanks dude. I know you’ve had a rough past, I just want to be there for you. Do you want to come in for a little while?” Brendon asked, gesturing towards the inside of his apartment.

Tyler nodded and walked inside as Brendon closed the door behind them.

“So how are you? Are you okay after what happened yesterday?” Brendon asked.

Tyler sat down on the couch in the sitting area and nodded. 

“I’m okay. I’m sorry you had to see me have a panic attack, that was embarrassing and probably really uncomfortable for you.” Tyler said.

“No, no, it’s totally fine.” Brendon reassured him. “I wasn’t uncomfortable, I was just scared. You weren’t talking and I didn’t know if you were okay or not and I couldn’t help you in any way.”

“I know it didn’t seem like it, but your presence helped calm me down a lot. If it wasn’t for both you and Josh, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Brendon smiled. “How is Josh, by the way?”

“He’s good, he slept over last night.” Tyler answered.

Brendon raised his eyebrows suggestively and Tyler’s jaw dropped.

“No! That’s not what I meant!” Tyler frantically said as Brendon burst into hysterical laughter. “Jesus, Brendon.”

“Sorry, sorry, I had to. Anyways, did you guys talk? Or do other things?” Brendon said with a smug look on his face.  
 Tyler rolled his eyes and sighed. “We talked. That’s it.”

Brendon nodded and sat back in his chair, staring at Tyler with a knowing face. 

“Okay fine, we kissed too.” Tyler sighed and Brendon erupted into laughter.

“I knew it!” he yelled, pointing his finger towards Tyler and smiling with a devilish grin.

Tyler groaned and buried his face in his hands as he blushed.

Brendon quieted down and smiled softly. “In all seriousness, you two would be an adorable couple. Josh seems like a nice dude, I totally support your relationship.”

“We aren’t even in a relationship.” Tyler groaned, but it was muffled due to his face still buried in his hands.

“Alright, whatever you say.” Brendon shrugged and grinned.

“What’s with all the commotion out here?” 

Tyler and Brendon both turned their heads to see a man with dark brown hair and sleepy eyes walk into the kitchen.

“Oh, good morning, Spencer. I hope we didn’t wake you up.” Brendon said to his roommate.

“It’s fine, who’s this?” Spencer asked, gesturing towards Tyler.

“This is Tyler, my friend from work and from high school.” Tyler waved sheepishly and looked down at his feet in shyness. 

“Oh, hey man. I’m Spencer, it’s nice to meet you.” Spencer said as he walked from the kitchen to the sitting area.

Tyler stood up from the couch and shook Spencer’s hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” He responded quietly.

Brendon, noticing that Tyler was uncomfortable talking to new people, stood up and put his arms around his shoulders.

“Tyler was only stopping by for a quick chat, right? I don’t want to keep him from Mark, he might be worried about you.” 

Tyler nodded in relief and smiled at Brendon.

“Yeah, I should probably get going.” Tyler said.

Brendon walked Tyler to the door and Spencer went back into the kitchen.

“Thank you for everything, Brendon. I know we haven’t hung out much outside of work and I want to change that. I have major trust issues but I know you’re a good person, I trust that you won’t ever hurt me.” Tyler said with a small smile.

“I would never hurt you, Tyler. Just text me when you want to hang out, okay?” 

“Okay, thanks again.” Tyler smiled and walked out of the door and down the hallway to the elevator.

“Have fun with your boyfriend!” Brendon called after him.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Tyler groaned and Brendon burst into hysterics again.

———

Tyler shut the door behind him and hung up his winter jacket. The smell of pancakes reached his nose and he ran into the kitchen, expecting to see Mark. When he turned the corner, he saw Josh and jumped in surprise.

“Hey,” Josh smiled.

His pink hair was messy, random strands sticking up in different directions and his tiny curls frizzy from moving around in his sleep.

“Hi,” Tyler breathed in surprise.

“What? You look shocked.” Josh laughed and flipped the pancake that was cooking.

“You’re just really beautiful.” Tyler said.

Josh blushed and ducked his head downwards. “Stop it,” he said with a bashful smile on his face.

Tyler grinned and sat down at the kitchen table as Josh placed the last pancake onto his plate and turned the stove off. He came to the table with two plates in his hands and set one down in front of Tyler and another one in front of himself.

“Thank you for making breakfast.” Tyler smiled gratefully and grabbed his fork and knife which Josh had previously set on the table before he had arrived.

“No problem, how’s Brendon?” asked Josh as he cut his pancakes into small pieces.

“He’s good, I just went over to tell him thank you for everything, especially for what he said to Dominic yesterday.” Tyler said.

Josh’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What did he say to Dominic?”

“Oh, I forgot I didn’t tell you.” Tyler set his fork and knife down on the napkins next to his plate. “Brendon basically told off Dominic for being an asshole. He said a lot of other stuff too, he mainly talked about how he hasn’t just negatively influenced my life but that he’s made me a stronger and better person.”

“I like this guy. We should hang out with him.” Josh said.

Tyler smiled. “Yeah, we should. I won’t be able to see him almost everyday now because we quit our jobs.” he frowned.

“Oh, I was thinking about this before I went to sleep last night. My friend, Dallon, the one whose parents own the music hall we went to, works at Topshop. I know there’s three or four positions available and they’re looking to hire someone. Dallon is such a nice guy, you’d love him.” Josh said.

Tyler swallowed a piece of a pancake and nodded. “That sounds cool, I like that store. I’ll look online and see if I can apply.” 

They ate their breakfast in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Josh spoke again.

“You’re okay, right?”

Tyler looked up from his plate. “What do you mean?”

“I was worried about you yesterday. You were acting fine after we talked but I know problems don’t just disappear that quickly. Are you okay?” Josh asked in concern.

“I think so. I’ve been trying not to think about it too much, I can’t overthink things otherwise I make problems worse. I’m still in shock that I saw Dominic but I think I’m more surprised that- never mind.” Tyler cut himself off abruptly and finished the last bite of his pancakes.

“What were you going to say?” Josh asked.

Tyler’s eyes flickered down to the table. “I was more surprised to find out that people actually cared about me.” It was silent. “My whole life I’ve had the mindset that I was just a waste of space that nobody cared for. I didn’t think I did anything important for anyone, but after I heard Brendon talk to Dominic about how I’ve helped people and how I’ve helped him, I was surprised. And after I talked to you and you told me about your friend problems I realized that there’s people out there who have had hard times like me. And of course with Mark I’m always reminded that people care about me, Mark is always worrying about me and doing everything he can to make sure I’m okay. I’ve just been blind this entire time. I actually wish I could thank Dominic in a way, I learned something yesterday. Even though Dominic and his friends or my parents didn’t care about me, I have a group of amazing friends who do. Instead of dwelling on the bad parts of my life, I need to start focusing on the good parts. I have you, Mark, and Brendon. I have people who actually care about me.” 

It was silent again for a few moments before Josh smiled.

“You are one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life. I’m always going to care about you no matter what happens.” Josh said.

Tyler smiled and lifted his eyes up from the table to stare at Josh.

“You’re a really pretty sleeper.” Tyler suddenly said.

Josh laughed. “What?”

“When I came downstairs this morning I saw you sleeping on the couch, you looked really pretty.” Tyler blushed and Josh grinned even wider.

“Come here,” Josh said as he stood up from his chair, abandoning the plate with leftover syrup on it.

Tyler stood up and walked over to Josh who had his arms held out. They wrapped each other up in their arms, sighing in contentment. Tyler’s face was resting on Josh’s shoulder, his eyes closed in peace as they rocked back and forth with their hands slowly rubbing up and down each others backs.

“Good morning.” 

Tyler couldn’t even find it in himself to break apart from Josh. Instead, he slowly opened his eyes to see Mark standing in the kitchen with his eyebrows raised.

“Hi Mark.” Tyler said.

“What’s going on?” Mark asked as his eyes flickered back and forth from Josh to Tyler who were still hugging each other tightly.

“We’re hugging.” Josh answered.

“I can see that.” Mark said. He walked over to the microwave to see three pancakes on a plate. “Did you make these, Josh?” he asked.

“Yeah, I saved them for you. Tyler and I already ate. Sorry we didn’t wait for you to wake up, I have to leave for work in a few minutes.” Josh said as he finally broke away from Tyler.

“It’s okay, thanks for making breakfast, that was really nice of you.” Mark said with a smile.

“No problem, man.” Josh smiled and turned back to Tyler. “I have to leave for work, can we hang out afterwards?”

“Anything for you.” Tyler smiled and Josh returned it as they gazed into each others eyes.

Mark watched them and poured syrup over his pancakes, laughing lightly under his breath.

“I’ll walk you out,” Tyler said as he led Josh down the hallway to the front door.

“I’ll text you after my shift ends, okay? Maybe we can get dinner somewhere or we can just go to my place or come here and watch movies.” Josh said as he pulled on his jacket.

“Sounds good, I’ll see you later.” Tyler said.

“I’ll miss you.” Josh puckered his lips jokingly but Tyler cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss. Josh let out a noise of surprise but kissed back, their lips slowly moving against each other.

Once they pulled back, Tyler smiled bashfully.

“I’ll miss you too.” 

Josh smiled and let out a quiet laugh before exiting the house and getting inside of his car. Tyler waved goodbye before returning to the kitchen where Mark was eating his pancakes. He sat down at the table and rested his head upon his hand, a dreamy smile on his face.

“So are you guys like a thing now?” Mark asked with a mouth full of pancake.

“No.” Tyler simply answered.

“You guys would be cute together. I’m already giving you my seal of approval.” Mark said.

Tyler laughed quietly and blushed as he thought about all of the times Josh and him have had together. 

They really would be a cute couple.

**Author's Note:**

> this shit is fuckin trash son. I'm probably gonna delete this fic lmaooo and ill rewrite a new one for christmas. seriously i just reread the first chapter and i just wanna say I'm sorry for putting y'all through that. truly tragic. horrible writing. i will definitely write something better for u guys. so yeah expect this to get deleted soon!


End file.
